The Road Home
by The Cactus
Summary: Ever wonder what Keitaro thinks as he walks back after being punted?


**Disclaimer: I do not own anything.**

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Keitaro silently fumed as he walked back towards the Hinata Dormitory.

"Why am I even attracted to her? She's a violent bit… girl who has little, in fact absolutely zero judgment sense whatsoever." As per normal, Keitaro started to mull over his bad taste and decisions as he walked back to the dormitory, an action that had long since become a habit. In fact, Keitaro felt weird if he didn't get pissed during the walk, which occurred at least once or twice a day a day.

Why was he walking in the first place, you ask? And what causes him to get pissed so regularly it becomes a habit?

Why, Naru's punching, of course. It goes without saying, that Motoko chips in too, but she's out of the equation at the moment.

Not for the first time, Keitaro wondered exactly what caused him to be so hopelessly infatuated with that bit… girl. It just didn't make sense that he would waste several years of his life; two in fact, to try to enter Tokyo University, just to be with her. Any normal, sane person would have packed their bags and left long ago, for who could stand up to such abuse? However, compared to the fifteen years he had spent on the promise girl, the two years did _seem_ rather insignificant.

But worse of all, he had become so infatuated with Naru that he was now willing to give up the promise girls for her, even if the promise girl did wait the fifteen years for him. Exchanging fifteen years for two seemed a rather bad deal, even for a dope like him. Was it fair to him, who had wasted more than half his life on that single promise? Was it fair to Naru, if, or when she ever accepted him, knowing that he would always have a part of him belonging to the promise girl?

But most importantly, especially if the promise girl HAD waited the fifteen years just like he did, was it _fair_ to her? And how was he going to explain his change of mind to her, especially after, you know, fifteen years of single minded idiocy?

Of course, Keitaro didn't know what to say. But still, there was always the extremely small chance that the promise girl and Naru would be one and the same. That would be the win-win situation for him and everybody involved, but what were the chances of that happening? He would grow a spine and act like a man before that happened.

With another sigh, Keitaro realized that he had gone way off tangent regarding the original line of thought – why the hell was he attracted to Naru, that violent and aggressive, bit… oh heck, bitch.

Keitaro would like to believe it was because of true love between the two of them that he was attracted and would sacrifice so much, even act like a wimp, for her. Still, he conceded, even saying it to himself that thought sounded stupid… really, _really _stupid. After all, when had Naru ever reciprocated his feelings? When had she ever displayed anything other than hatred and contempt for him? When had she ever, ever given the slighted inkling that she would like to even be _friends _with him?

The answer was never, except during that holiday in Kyoto when neither of them recognized each other, but of course, that didn't count.

Even as he reached the conclusion that Naru would probably never like him, Keitaro realized, that his anger had completed faded. It just wasn't in him to be angry with anybody for long. But, he also realized that each time he walked back, his thoughts would always be about his anger towards Naru, and, as always, he would always forget the anger he felt as he approached home. So, for all his crap about how Naru was a bitch and he was angry, in the end nothing would have changed. He would always be Naru's bitch. Man-slave. Whatever you would like to call it.

And once again, he resigned himself to another day of groveling at Naru's feet just for her to beat him up again a moment later. He supposed it was worth it, if it was indeed true love that made him do it.

Which of course, was nothing but wishful thinking.

000

A/N: I think some of you are perhaps missing the point here. The point is that Keitaro _is _pissed about getting beaten up and all that. But as he returns home from wherever in hell he was sent to, his anger dissipates and he becomes the subservient Keitaro we all know and love. I hope that cleared up some confusion.


End file.
